


I would take a whisper if that's all you had to give

by ShariDeschain



Series: Dick and Dami Week 2019 [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics)
Genre: #DickAndDamiWeek2019, Domestic Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 20:31:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18431558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShariDeschain/pseuds/ShariDeschain
Summary: The penthouse is quiet with that kind of quiet embroidered with laziness that you can only find in a house on a sunny Sunday afternoon, right after a family lunch, when everyone’s belly is full and there’s nothing left to do but nap and wait for the day to gently slip away.#DickAndDamiWeek2019 - Day 4 - Music





	I would take a whisper if that's all you had to give

The penthouse is quiet with that kind of quiet embroidered with laziness that you can only find in a house on a sunny Sunday afternoon, right after a family lunch, when everyone’s belly is full and there’s nothing left to do but nap and wait for the day to gently slip away.

Days like this one were already a rarity back at the Manor with Bruce, but here in the penthouse, with Damian being restless on his best day, they’ve never experienced anything like this since the moment they moved in.

Dick wonders if he should really investigate this unexpected serenity, or if it’s best to leave it alone. He knows for certain that Damian’s in his room, so he doesn’t have to worry for it to be a result of the boy's secret escape, as it has been in several other occurrences. Maybe Damian’s reading, maybe he’s drawing or playing a video game, hell, even if he’s scheming his next escapade Dick could still enjoy the peace in good conscience.

Truth is, Dick’s curious. And he also wants to spend some time with the kid. Not as Batman and Robin, not undercover at some event they have to attend in order to keep their civilian persona intact, but just between the two of them. A day at the park, the cinema, even the mall, maybe. He’s also indulging the idea of taking Damian to Haley Circus, let him play with the animals and watch if the little snot can keep his haughty grimace even with a troop of baby monkeys climbing on him.

The mental image makes him smile, and Dick knocks at Damian’s door with the best intention to dodge every objections and drag the kid to the circus no matter what. There’s no answer, and after debating with himself the consequence of such action, he pushes the door open anyway, ready to pay for this violation of privacy with an ice cream offer.

What he finds, when he steps in the room, is not weird per se, but just because it’s Damian.

The kid is sprawled face down on his bed, his right cheek smushed against the page of the book he was reading, the headphones in his ears still playing a soft music that Dick can hear even from the doorway, and he's sleeping so blissfully and so deeply he’s even drooling a little bit all over his book.

And it’s not the obvious exhaustion that surprises Dick, because god knows he feels exhausted himself, it’s the realization of never have seen Damian so defenseless and unconcerned before now. There’s no tension in his body, not even the fake one he conjures up when sleeping in his usual soldier-like position, and no hard lines on his young face designed to make him look older and more threatening than a ten years old should be. Even the music blaring at full volume in his ears suggests an ease Dick’s never seen before on him, a relaxation he’s not used to associate to Damian at all.

The right thing to do now would be to back down, close the door, and go on with his day without disturbing the boy any further: Dick knows that. But almost without thinking he takes a step into the room and then another, and another again until he reaches the bed and he’s towering over the kid’s sleepy form.

He pauses then, but just for a moment. In for a penny, in for a pound he figures, so he sits down on the bed, in the narrow space between Damian and the edge of the mattress. The kid doesn’t seem troubled enough by this new closeness to actually wake up, but he does stir, and the page of the book remains stuck to his face and only rustles softly when Damian try to turn his head.

The kid moans disapprovingly and bats a sleepy hand at the page, still too asleep to even understand what’s disturbing him, and Dick chuckles in perfect silence and helps him getting rid of the book by gently slipping it away from under him.

Damian lets out a content hum, and since there’s no way now for him to not be aware of another presence next to him, Dick takes a calculated risk and brushes his hand against the kid’s hair. Damian doesn’t protest the affection, and Dick smiles again.

The music from the headphones is more intelligible now, even if Dick doesn't recognize it. There’s a classical sound to it, violines and lutes are definitely there, and the slow rhythm suggests something nostalgic and heartfelt. Dick can’t really tell apart the whole lyrics but he catches a few arabic words here and there.

“It’s a nice song”, he tells Damian, and his voice is soft enough for the kid to pretend not to hear it if so he decided.

Instead Damian blinks up at him and nods in approval.

“T’was Mother’s favorite”, he mumbles sluggishly, and this too is a novelty: they never speak of Talia if they can avoid it, especially Damian.

“Mind if I listen to it with you?”, Dick asks.

Damian stifles a yawn, then shrugs and rolls on his side to make space for Dick on the bed, and Dick lies next to him without waiting for any further invitations. He takes the headphone Damian offers him with a soft _thank you_ and slips it into his ear.

The music immediately wraps around him with its longing melody and its delicate notes, and Dick decides that the circus can wait another day, he can very easily set with staying here next to Damian all afternoon, and listen to the music of his childhood together.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the #DickandDamiWeek2019 on tumblr. [Day 4 - Music](https://unavenged-robin.tumblr.com/post/184113107093/day-4-music-the-penthouse-is-quiet-with-that)


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